Help is at Hand

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Help is at Hand!

• Sarah Webb
• Regional HEPA East Midlands
• June 2009

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Health Protection Agency

• - Arms length body of the Dept of Health
• Category 1 responder under the CCA
• An expert body not a body of experts!
• Local Health Protection Units
• Local incident response
• Infectious diseases
• Proactive health protection work with range of
  stakeholders

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Specialist Centres and Divisions

• Centre for Infections Colindale
• Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response
  Porton
• Chemical Hazards and Poisons Chilton and
  regionally based teams
• Radiation Protection Division Chilton and Leeds

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HPA in Emergencies

• Category 1 responder
• Primary role is to provide health protection
  advice and support to NHS and other responders
  but increasingly an operational role in response
  as well.
• Infectious diseases

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Chemical Incidents
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Weather
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Radiation Incidents
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STAC

• Scientific and Technical Advice Cell
• Called in a major incident with complex or
  serious health implications it provides a
  mechanism to bring together all the relevant
  experts to provide a single source of advice.

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STAC Guidance to local responders April 2007

• Replaces the HAT JHAC
• Sits within the Strategic Co-ordinating Centre
  where there is a need for co-ordinated scientific
  and technical advice to support the response and
  advise the Gold Commander useful to see this as
  part of gold command arrangements
• Normally activated by the Police Gold RDPH or
  HPA Regional Director may also recommend its
  formation
• Covers non-terrorist incidents as well as CBRN

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Role of the STAC

• Provides a common source of technical advice to
  Gold pool information and provide a common view
  on the merits of different courses of action
• Monitor and corral the responding scientific and
  technical community to deliver on Golds
  objectives
• Provides a common brief to the technical lead
  from each agency represented on the cell
• Liaise with national specialist advisers and
  their agencies to ensure consistent advice
  locally and nationally

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Composition

• Cell lead DPH
• Secretariat/staff officer support
• Gold liaison
• Relevant emergency services technical advisers
  HAZMAT etc.
• HPA
• EA
• FSA
• HSE

• Local Authority EHP
• Met Office
• Other Government Departments e.g. DEFRA
• Utilities
• Site Operators reps COMAH sites
• Comms rep
• GDS

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Activation

• RDPH has the strategic responsibility. This is
  discharged in the East Midlands by the HPA
  single point for activation in the region
  supplemented by local arrangements with each LRF
• Requests from Police Gold or RDPH etc to be
  phoned directly to HPA 24/7 number 07092 980004

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HPA role in activation

• Signpost the availability of immediate scientific
  and health advice if necessary
• Identify the cell lead who will in most
  circumstances be a Director of Public Health
• Work with the cell lead to identify appropriate
  membership of STAC for the incident
• Contact regional and national STAC members in
  the initial phase of STAC
• Co-ordinate early meetings and teleconferencing.
  It is anticipated that the first STAC meeting
  would be a teleconference for acute incidents
  set up within 1 hour - although this is unlikely
  to be a full STAC membership
• Provide staff officer support to the cell lead
  for the initial meetings PCT to take this over?

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Roles in a STAC

• Deputy Chair or Chair NHS HPA
• STAC Manager HPA NHS EA
• STAC Administrator HPA NHS EA
• STAC member - technical and scientific
• This role can also be fulfilled by those from a
  range of organisations

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LRF Responsibilities

• Contact arrangements for local STAC members
  Local Authority, Fire, etc.
• Each agency will need to consider general admin
  support loggists to the STAC. Out of hours this
  may be dependant on availability of volunteers
• Suitable venue and support facilities including
  refreshments etc.
• Gold liaison officer

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Further considerations

• Further national guidance being prepared
  looking at competencies for key staff and
  training
• Early advice 1 hour from the first request
• Cadre of trained individuals with opportunities
  to exercise
• Role in supporting recovery membership may
  change during the course of an incident

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Special issues for the HPA

• The first hour signposting advice HPU/3rd on
  call
• Teleconference 1 hour in
• STAC training and expertise for HPA staff
• Vector command Feedback
• Regional Exercise Feb 08
• National Training Programme Feb 08 onwards
• Loggists
• HPA Comms

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How will we know?

• Acute or big bang incidents links through the
  blue light services
• Set of triggers agreed with Fire and Rescue
  Services
• Large fires, chemical incidents, radiation
  incidents
• Police Gold or SCG
• Slow burn incidents
• Chronic incidents land contamination
• Public health route and/or HPA advice

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Calling the STAC

• Request of the Gold Commander
• STAC operates under the strategic direction of
  the SCG
• RDPH or RD from the HPA may recommend to the Gold
  Commander that a STAC be formed

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Pressures of working in a STAC

• Information poor be proactive!
• Time critical
• Working environment may be less than ideal
• May need to run extended hours or 24/7 handover
  is vital
• Battle rhythm SCG meetings
• Police liaison officer provides a key link to the
  SCG
• Records management rules of evidence

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STAC Plan key areas

• Role of the STAC
• Activation
• Membership and roles within the STAC
• Action cards
• Chair and deputy chair
• Members
• STAC manager
• Loggists
• Maps, forms, information on specialist agencies
  etc.

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In summary

• HPA has a key role in incident response for
  emergencies affecting health and local
  authorities EHPs are likely to be part of that
  response. In particular in a STAC.
• Multi-agency response networks Local Resilience
  Forum is a vital links between all of us
• STAC participant training sessions in each county
  to be run by the HPA